Apothic Red: Turmoil

Beau sees that the back door to the mattress store has been left open. He walks out into the cool, dank night and can no longer sense Juliet. Though there was no sign of foul play had she been kidnapped? Had she stepped out for fresh air & been taken without his knowledge? It doesn't make sense. He can always tell when she's in trouble just by the sound of her heartbeat, but not now. . .
"Juliet, where the hell are you?" He scans left and right hoping for a sign.

"Beeeeaaaaauuuu!!!!!!" Juliet's voice echos back to him. If that wasn't a sign he doesn't know what is.

Without a second thought he shoots in her direction like a bullet. Yard by yard he's able to sense her a little more, but yard by yard he realizes how far she's been taken away from him. It's a suicidal distance. How long has she been this far away? She could already be dead and in short caused the next plague upon humanity!

A skinny lump lays in the middle of an empty street. The lights flicker over her outline in such a dramatic way he can't even tell if she's breathing. Is he too late? Shadows dart off into the darkness...whoever they were are gone now.
He skids on the pavement as he stops next to her. He dives his arms around her and cradles her gently. "Juliet..." He gives her a tiny shake. "Juliet?" Her breath is steady and her heartbeat is stable as if she were nothing more than sleeping.
Beau lets out a relieved yet stressed sigh. For now she and the world are safe. He picks her up and decides to take her back to the mattress store since that's where her stuff is. It'll be dawn soon so with that and recent circumstances they'll have to move on.

Corie made it to the hide out. Once inside she went down to the basement, where the lab was, to examine the sample. Corie wasn't one for science, but she knew a few things. Watching the blood under the microscope, Corie found how all the white blood cells were detiriorating, not just that but there were other unusual looking cells, could it be the virus? Her suspiscions prove to be correct. It appears the virus was trying to bond with the blood cells, but the anti bodies were trying to fight it off. Of course it was a losing battle. It's strange, what was so different about these clones from the original? They were clones, shouldn't be any difference and it's the same virus on it's first stages.

"Hmmm..." Corie wrote down her observations; only what she could understand. She cleaned up the place and went up stairs to bring her findings to Master Anderson. "Maybe he can find out... He's into this sort of thing." She told herself.

Corie's phone rang, not her business line. She answers. "Bonjour miel." She could hear her little one's french voice on the other end, asking how she was, where she was and when she will return. "Je reviendrai bientôt chérie." After a few more minutes talking they hung up.

That call was a reminder of her reason to be here, but after seeing him again... his eyes, his stature... everything he was reminds Corie of her. Could she really do it? Could she remove him from this world forever? If she does then what will she say to her little one? Telling her the truth is not an option for her, but it's something she'll have to face sooner or later.

Corie tossed those thoughts aside and continued her way to the Master. Hopefully he won't be irritated to be woken up so late, but this was important. She made it to his room and stood there for a bit; her heart racing just as her thoughts were. It was esier when Mad Cat was around with her, but now she's alone with him, something Corie never thought would happen again. It's fine. Nothing will happen. You're not a little girl anymore. Feeling a bit comfort knowing she's not his "type" anymore she knocked on his door.

Was it all just a dream? A figment of her imagination? A nightmare? The things she did in her dream... nightmare... it was terrifying to her. Why would she dream such terrible things? All those people she killed by infecting them, Juliet would never do that to anyone, she couldn't even hurt a fly.

Her eye's opened and was relieved to be back in the mattress store. Juliet quickly looked around and saw Beau lying on the mattress next to hers. She stood up and sat next to him, not saying anything; her mind was still on that dream.

You liked it. Don't deny.

Shut up. Who are you? I've heard you before.

Of course you have babe. I'm you.

You were in my dream last night.

Dream!? The voice laughed evily in her head. Please, do you think it was really a dream?

Juliet felt confussed, it had to be a dream. The images of that night were all just a blur.

Her eyes shifted to Beau... how long hs he been awake. Juliet smiled at him, reassuring she's alright. "Morning."

Juliet moves but Beau is more interested in where she thinks she going next. She goes nowhere, but stands there for an uncomfortable amount of time so he rolls over and looks at her. Finally, she acknowledges he's awake.
"Morning." She smiles as if she got a full nights sleep.

"Morning? Really?" Beau snorts. "Whether or not I could remember anyone who sleep walks I know it has to be pretty rare. Why did you wonder off last night? Where did you think you were going? I can understand you keeping your distance during the day, but at night you're an easy target." He reminds her not knowing if the expression on her face is fear due to her actions or because she doesn't recall how she got out there.

"Anyways, since you're up, again, lets get moving. I've got a suspicion someone knows we're here." He scratches his head. He knows they weren't alone on the street last night even if he didn't see who if he were only a few moments later they would have disappeared into the shadows with Juliet and then what?

Lye sat in a plush arm chair. To his side is his little, lifeless maid with her brown hair pulled back into a braid standing as stiff as a board, but ready for any command. Her attire is that of a mix between Victorian and French maid, but completely modest as innocence is what turned his fancy not stripper costumes that left nothing to the imagination. That kind of derogatory mess was meant for the lowest of class and perverts.

The knock is expected.

"Enter, Valentina," he speaks loud and clear just to put a shiver down her spine. He wasn't one to imagine what goes through a woman's tainted mind, but he can sense the ill-at-ease by her from across a room as if there was a change in the total atmosphere around her.
"Madden informs me you have samples for me?" His anticipation is clear despite him being calm as he actually gets up to retrieve them along with her notes. "Excellent, you are more efficient than I gave you credit for." He admits. He goes over to his desk/test table that is lined with microscopes, beakers, bunsen burners, and a few small electronic devices hooked to a computer and printers. He glimpses over her clearly foreign handwriting then takes a look for himself.

"Fascinating, the rapid deterioration of the foreign antibodies as they attack the host cells themselves is like an experiment in fatality. Even if one survives there is no guarantee the winner will survive. What were those fools in Apothica thinking creating a snake that devours its own tail?" He speaks out loud. "This sample won't survive the night unless I flash freeze it without ice crystals forming to damage the cells." He stands up, his silvery blonde hair falling over his shoulder as he didn't have time to pull it back. "Hand me that jar there, will you?" He picks up an eye dropper and dyes it a shade of pink. He then places it in the device that resembles a microwave and flips a switch. "Hopefully, that is enough. Their fail-safe on their experiments is deadly."

He turns to Valentina and lifts up her wrist. "Did this blood make contact with any exposed flesh?" He looks straight into her eyes. No human could lie to him without him seeing it as he peers into those familiar hazel eyes. He puts his other finger to her wrist just under where his hand holds her close. "IF you become exposed the virus will be very slow at first as your body will have all it's immunity in tact." He slowly traces down her soft skin. "Then it'll start absorbing into your cells creating a new sense of self." He pushes a little harder. "Next it overtakes the vulnerable cells causing the potassium levels to be unregulated." He presses so hard his nail practically scratches her skin. "Much like venom it eats away at the structure, feeding, until it disperses completely." He pulls his finger away. "The entire time you are suffering an extremely slow and painful death as you rot away from the inside out. If you are lucky you will go into shock before you are left in a hell as each of your organs die."

He leans in a bit down to her. "If you like I can do a blood test."

No one else, but her foster parents, has called her Valentina. Hearing him say her original name strikes a small discomfort, but nevertheless she tried as hard as she could to appear calm. As she looked up to Master Andersen, Corie spots his "doll", standing over against the wall. A shiver went down Corie's spine; she knows very well that that doll was once a lovely, beautiful girl with soft, warm skin, pink cheeks and eyes full of life. That could've been me. She thought as she acknowledge the french theme her outfit displayed. Did he dress her that way onpurpose? Her guess was he probably did to scare her.

"Hand me that jar over there will you?" Corie snaped back to reality. She quickly walked over to where the jar was and handed it to him.

Once again her heartbeat began to pulse rapidly at the feelig of his touch. Corie never thought her childhood demon would touch her again. Hurt coursed through her wrist as his finger nail broke through the first layer. His words, describing a painful, torturous and slow death didn't phase her at all only the feeling of having him so close to her. In other situations, with other men, Corie could easily push them away, even beat them up, but Master Anderson was an entirly different story. He made her feel helpless and paralyzed... and she hated feeling that way.

He leans into her, a bit too close for comfort. "If you like I can do a blood test."

Her eyes are locked with his and fakes a smile. "Thank you for your concern Master, but I'm not infected. I was very careful."

She steps back from him, placing her arms behind her. "Will you be needing anything? If not I'll be joining Madden." To be honest Corie was exhausted, but since this hide out was their only place to rest, she doesn't want to sleep while Anderson is still here.

Juliet was puzzled by his questions, she would never wonder off on her own, she knows very well the dangers and risks out there. So... what happened? The last thing she remembers well was going to bed and then that strange dream started; she could see her body moving on it's own... and... that voice... who was that?

"Anyways, since you're up, again, lets get moving. I've got a suspicion someone knows we're here." He suggests.

The girl nods in agreement. "Okay." She picks up her things, putting them away in a bag she got at the store they had gone the other day. "Lemme change quick." She jogs over to the ladies room along with her bag and changes into some short pants, a button shirt with long sleeves and blue Converse. "Ready." She said cheerfully.

"Hey you think I could get some odd jobs to gather some money to pay Mr. Richards back? I really don't wanna delay it."

Outside the Sun was hiding behing the clouds, looks like another rain will pour down soon. "So... now that we have all the information those men gave us... what are we suppose to do with it? I mean it's not like we can go over to the Apothacary and make them back off or..." She stopped in her tracks and looked down. "Could... C-could they make me normal again? Could they take away what they planted in me?"

Living a life on the run, literally fighting to survive... fighting the Apothecary goons, the Pharmacy and the virus that lurks inside... it wasn't a life she wanted to live. "I don't know how much I can take of this... I can't even remember anything that happened last night. I don't know how or why I would go out alone."

Aw poor darling is getting overwhelmed. That voice from before spoke again... who could it be?

When she stared back into his eyes Lye knew he had hit a chord. After all these years he could still strum her like a violin. The chords may be older and in need of a tune-up, but he still owned her in a way no other could.

She steps back from him, placing her arms behind her. "Will you be needing anything? If not I'll be joining Madden."
He dismisses her without a word. He could play this out longer, but being as he's something of a spider his patients is endless and its much more fun to tease pray than to devour quickly. Also at this time he has more pressing matters to attend to these blood samples keep a mortal life faster than that of a fruit fly.

He will deal more with his former victim later, because there is no trusting those whose personal tragedy was caused by his own hands.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Madden yawns. He had been up all night and he needs his beauty rest. It's enough to make him loose interest in his handsome robot boy.
"Nyah..." He wines, pulling out his phone and texting Corie.
'wut is goin on? give me sumthin ta do, bizotch'

Juliet asks Beau questions he can't answer.
"I don't even know what normal is, little girl." He snorts. Not like an android is a common thing...or is it?
"We don't really have many options or ideas aside from going face-to-face with whoever did this to us. Either that or live out the rest of our lives like this. I'm cool with it either way." He tries to lighten the mood. Not like it will effect him much when he doesn't even have friends or a family.

"As for a job that's up to you. I should probably get 1 as well just in case...I guess. I just don't know about your new friend. Even I know it's not normal for a man his age to want to hang around a girl who looks as young as you." He points out. "A-cup doesn't exactly ring out maturity." he blurts out before he can stop himself.